The DinoBase Public Forum

David Hone · 2008-02-17 07:12:40

Fossils break, it is a fact of life and it doesn't really matter how careful you are, accidents happen. Probably my most nerve wracking moment in palaentology came when I have the Berlin Archaeopteryx. All of about 3 feet, but I was terrified. You *really* don't want to break that one. It's the kind of hting that might actually make the international news, and it is very, very delicate. The whole slab is fractions of a milimetre thick in some palces around the bones where it has been prepared on both sides and already both tibiaeare broken.

I didn't break it.

But I have broken a few others. I have the basal tyrannosauroid Guanlong in my office right now and the other day a phalanx came apart in my hands. I didn't even really touch it. And I broke one of the humeri recently in a humiliating effort where I was moving the skull to a safe place in the office and managed to nudge and break the humerus in the process! And I once snapped off a Dicreaeosaurus neural spine while holding it as instructed to the surprised comment of my colleague "Oh, I always do that and it's never broken before". Great.

Come on, don't be shy, I am sure everyone here has broken something at one time or another and I don't know a professional palaeontologist who hasn't broken something at some point (thought admittedly it's easier to break a nice fragile theropod neural spine than a badly eroded ammonite, so maybe it's just the dinosaur guys). So if you are man (or woman) enough, confess! What have you broken?

Dave Godfrey · 2008-02-17 19:17:56

Be very careful how you use blu-tack on echinoids, unless you like them peeled.

Manabu Sakamoto · 2008-02-19 14:54:41

Well, I don't think any of mine are really serious...I hope...but just a couple...

While I was poking around at the NHM in London, I picked up a "Megalosaurus" metatarsus (or I think it was) and the whole distal bit of it just snapped off and hit the floor. I did a little panicked "circle around in place" dance and told the curator when he came around to make sure I wasn't doing any damage. On closer inspection we determined that the bone had broken off at a previously broken position and that the adhesives had worn out. He reassured me that it wasn't too serious as it was a scrappy piece of bone, though he did tell me that if it had been Baryonyx on the other hand, I would have faced a quick and sudden death at the hands of a certain curator...

I think a few crumbles came off of the maxilla and dentary of Kelmayisaurus while I was visiting the IVPP - but they were just crumbles like flakes...

The tail of Mei was already broken when I saw it! I swear! and there was a massive amount of glue on that specimen...but Dave would know more about this specimen and its current state?

Manabu Sakamoto · 2008-02-19 15:01:25

This isn't a broken fossil incident but one of the most nervous moments I've had was when Prof. Perle visited our Department. He had the holotype skull of Erlikosaurus that he handed out to the audience and insisted that we pass it around the lecture theater...

David Hone · 2008-02-20 01:24:57

Yeah, I remember that. Everyone was terrified of dropping it, a few people refused. A bunch of the geologists at Bristol wanted to see it and were handing it around quite happily until I told them how valuable it was....

As for Mei long, yes the tail and plenty more are broken and its no surprise the tail went - it's now broken in about 5 places it is so weak. I have 'broken' several things where the glue has given way while I am handling it, but the ones abover were, well, 'new'.

Julia · 2008-02-26 11:53:35

Yeah, I broke a Cetiosauriscus stewarti mid-caudal... Put it back in the cupboard, felt some resistance and thought I'd laid it fully down, but apparently the spine wasn't touching the shelf. It very rapidly did, however, and snapped off about one third of the way from the centrum.

To be fair, as with Manabu's experience, it snapped along an old glue line. But I was still bricking myself telling the curator! And she wasn't angry at all. She had a look at it, and it didn't seem to merit immediate repair (it has been repaired now though).

But I was staying at Earls Court YHA while I was working on the specimen, and for three weeks I was called Bonebreaker. It stuck for longer than I was wholly comfortable with, and is certainly not a nickname I happily publicised...

Jerry D. Harris · 2008-02-26 19:01:35

I once obliterated -- not just broke, but broke irreparably, a couple of Sigmala jaw fragments...I had them under a microscope, and was moving a small, lead holder I have that holds a tiny plastic cup of glue or consolidant and has a perch for a toothpick or other applicator, and I dropped it. It bounced 100% the wrong way under any law of physics except Murphy's Law, and landed smack on top of the two fragments, which were reduced to powder. I had them on loan from a researcher that, in turn, had them on loan from somewhere else, and I was absolutely terrified to tell him...I took a couple of days to steel myself before doing so. Against all odds, he was fine with it and absolved me of the crime...but it still haunts me 'til this day!

The DinoBase Public Forum

#1 2008-02-17 07:12:40

38. Confession time!

#2 2008-02-17 19:17:56

Re: 38. Confession time!

#3 2008-02-19 14:54:41

Re: 38. Confession time!

#4 2008-02-19 15:01:25

Re: 38. Confession time!

#5 2008-02-20 01:24:57

Re: 38. Confession time!

#6 2008-02-26 11:53:35

Re: 38. Confession time!

#7 2008-02-26 19:01:35

Re: 38. Confession time!

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